Looking Ahead for Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC); Are These Shares Ready to Go Higher?

November 28, 2016CSZ Staff

In a turbulent environment, investors are inclined to put in some extra work to stay on top of the latest market happenings. Analysts and investors are typically highly focused on company earnings numbers when they are published. Company earnings are a good way to analyze the profitability of the company. Sell-side analysts are currently looking for Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) to post quarterly EPS of $0.67. The company’s next earnings report is expected to be released on or around 2017-02-01 for the period ending on 2016-12-31. The company posted EPS of $0.78 for the same quarter last year. Most recently, the company reported EPS of $0.77. Prior to the last earnings report, Zacks Research had a consensus estimate looking for EPS of $0.77. The gap between the estimate and actual number was $0 which created a surprise factor of 0%. The surprise factor can cause substantial stock fluctuations after the earnings release.

When a company releases earnings information, the results have the possibility of causing short-term stock movements whether the company misses or beats projections. Prior to the company’s earnings report, investors may be tracking directional trends of provided estimates. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) most recently reported a previous quarter earnings per share of $0.77. The Zacks Research consensus before the earnings release was $0.77.

The gap between the estimate and actual was $0 which created a surprise factor of 0%. The current mean price target on the stock is $59.444 which includes 9 analysts that were polled by Zacks Research. The high end target price has shares touching $68 and the low end target estimate has the stock moving to $52 within the year. In looking at the standard deviation of all estimates, we arrive at 5.479.

Zacks Research also uses a numerical ratings scale that spans from 1 to 5. Using this rating scale, a 1 would represent a Strong Buy, and a 5 rating would represent a Strong Sell rating. Combining all the ratings on Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC), the current mean is sitting at 2.33. Breaking those down we see that the ratings are as follows: 4 Strong Buy, 0 Rated Buy, 8 Rated Hold and 0 Rated Sell.

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Analyst recommendations and estimates are for informational purposes only and should be used along with a number of other factors when considering an investment position. Part of the data in this report is derived from Zacks Research and FactSet. Ratings and estimates change daily and thus the numbers may differ slightly if a new report has been issued within the last 24-hours. The consensus numbers take into account the reports from over 160 brokerage firms. The job of analysts is to issue recommendations for their clients, and not typically for the general public. Analyst forecasts, earnings estimates and price target projections are issued to help their clients make money through stock investments. We in no way are suggesting that readers make any decision based on the information in this report.